Clockwork
by CiggestBock
Summary: Time is limited- everybody knows that. What happens when a boy gets powers to shake that ever standing rule? Featuring a Strong OC main character, the aim of the story is to explore that sentence and the changes it could bring.
1. Chapter 1

Jukutatsu Kanji was seated in a white room, in white loose clothes, with quirk- suppressing handcuffs on. Dull eyes counted the floor tiles to pass time, while behind a two-way mirror two people were talking with each other.

"Is the boy ready?" The man dressed in a clean, pressed suit asked.

"As ready as someone in his situation can be. That doesn't mean he's healthy psychologically, though." The other, a doctor answered.

"Good enough. Get the collar on him and place him in a home close to U.A. University."

"Are you sure? He may be 18 now, but…" The doctor took off his glasses and nervously started to clean them.

"Yes. Do as told." The man turned around and exited the room. The doctor sighed, placed his glasses back on and pushed a button on the console in front of him.

"Agata-san, we received orders to initiate Code Green. Start the procedures."

"Certainly." The man spared one last look to the young man on the other side of the mirror and got out of the room.

* * *

Two days later saw Kanji staring at the empty apartment, taking in the rather depressing sight. A living room, bed- and bathroom wasn't much. Grabbing his suitcase, he closed the door and deposited his luggage in the middle of the house.

"Welcome home, I guess." He then walked around the apartment to familiarize himself with it. When he arrived at his bedroom, he immediately noticed the yellow letter with the U.A hero school's insignia resting on the desk. He grabbed it and started to read it on the bed-the only other furniture in the room.

"_Dear Jukutatsu-san,_

_I was informed of your circumstance and needless to say, we would be happy to take you in as a student to our University. However, before that we request your presence on Wednesday at the school, as we will hold the recommended student's exam there. It involves a written and a practical exam, as well as an interview, but you are excused from that because of obvious reasons. Please be there at building A, 10 am, sharp._

_Your hopefully soon-to-be principal, Nezu._

He set down the paper. Of course, he couldn't just start at the school without the exam. But why? Didn't the principal know about his quirk? Or is he hoping to bring him out of his comfort zone by placing him in a situation where he's forced to use his powers and interact with others? He suspected the latter would be the answer.

'_Well, no matter.'_

He then walked back to his belongings and started to unpack. It wasn't much, a few shirts, pants, underwears, hygiene products and other necessities he got from the doctors. He walked around, not knowing what to do.

'_I guess I look around to get to know the city.'_ He got up but paused.

'_But only after a shower.'_

In the bathroom he undressed, his lightly touching the collar on his neck. Despite not wanting to, he took a quick glance at himself in the mirror. Dirt-brown eyes stared back and took in his straight, brown hair. Painfully average, as everything else about him. Feeling disgusted, he turned away from the man and quickly turned on the shower.

After drying himself and getting dressed he was back to business.

'_Let's not waste any more time.' _And with a ripple in the air, he was gone from the apartment.

Kanji reappeared on top of the many residential buildings in central Tokyo. A fight was taking place in front of a bank, on the other side people were rushing to and from. The whole city was buzzing with life, not surprising, as it was 6 pm- past the usual worktime of the average worker. He changed locations, this time standing in the middle of a crowd to see heroes fight the bank robbers. The heroes there were a strange man made from wood, and a gigantic woman taller than the surrounding buildings.

They quickly dispatched the villains, showing considerable power and teamwork. The woman shrunk down, while the wood-man turned the criminals over to the police. The press immediately swarmed the place, cameras were flashing, much to the woman's pleasure.

The crowd was cheering, while shouting.

"Kamui Woods is sooo cool!"

"I love you Mt. Lady!"

"Damn media, let me through, I have to get an autograph!"

Kanji looked at the heroes. _'So that's their names. Good to know.' _His business there finished, he disappeared once again.

Spending a couple hours watching the city, he felt he knew the most important locations. This was why he didn't like change, to get to know everything again and again was tiring and bothersome. He didn't feel like doing it, but it had to be done. Well, at least it was now.

"Time to head back" He whispered to himself and vanished.

* * *

The rest of his days were not so exciting. Laying in his bed, reading, watching TV and generally not doing anything took up most of his hours. At night, as usual, sleep eluded him, so he spent it at the top of his apartment, watching the stars. When Wednesday came, he got up at 9:50, got dressed in comfortable gym clothes, and with the familiar ripple disappeared and reappeared at his destination, the U.A. University building.

A few people were walking in, the most notables were a tall boy with a wide grin, a boy with half white-half red hair and a girl with a wild ponytail.

"Are you lost? We can go together to the written exam test site."

Kanji looked towards the source of the voice, a boy with light coloured hair and a smile from ear to ear, literally.

"Ah, Honenuki Juzo, by the way…" To be honest, Juzo was a little bit put off. The boy he spoken to was quiet for a few moments, and the way he stared at him with his dull eyes made him feel a bit uncomfortable. He didn't know what he was thinking, is he offended or just shy?

"…Sure, thanks." He finally answered, and they started moving.

"I'm Jukutatsu Kanji."

"Nice to meet you, Jukutatsu-san!" Juzo answered with a slightly bigger smile.

"Likewise." Kanji said in monote.

The written exam wasn't hard, but Kanji felt he missed a few of the questions. Now though, the practical was coming, and passing that, he felt confident about. He and the rest of the recommended were led to a training ground with a rather long running track. _'Is that going to part of the exam?' _he wondered. His musing was broken by the boy he met at gates earlier.

"Hey Jukutatsu-san! How did you do? Personally, I don't think it was particularly hard."

"Same here." Juzo was waiting for him to continue, but apparently, he was finished. He felt a bit awkward.

"Ah…What do you think the practical will be? I bet it will be pretty challenging, we are recommended students after all."

"Maybe a race. I'm not sure." With this, the conversation fell into silence for the reminder of the trip, Juzo feeling slightly embarrassed and annoyed, Kanji not showing any emotion.

Now, however, they arrived at the exam site, a few teachers, where a man with his blonde hair in pompadour style draw all the attention to himself.

"WELCOME LISTENERS, TO PRESENT MIC'S ONE-TIME-ONLY PRACTICAL EXAM! CAN I GET A HEY?!"

Most were taken aback at the explosive enthusiasm of the pro hero, but no one answered to his call, until…

"hey…" a low voiced was heard, the source being a red-faced Kanji, who felt he wanted to die at that moment. How was he supposed to know nobody else will follow? All eyes snapped to him, and Juzo snickered quietly, but offered a comforting shoulder pat to the embarrassed boy. Some of the hopefuls were giggling too, but more out of spite than good natured amusement, this not passing Present Mic's attention.

"THANK YOU, YOUNG MAN, FOR YOUR ENTHUSIASM! NOW, LET'S START WHAT WE'RE REALLY HERE FOR!

Next the hero explained the practical exam and Kanji's prediction came true, as a three-kilometer race was taking place. He let out a revealed sigh. He could do this without revealing too much about his quirk, which was fortunate. The students then were broken into smaller groups of six, and one by one they started to let their powers loose to win their respective races.

Kanji saw some impressive quirks, the 'half-half' guy manipulating ice, while his opponent controlled winds, the ponytail girl creating objects out of thin air and Juzo was softening the ground around him.

"You were good." He said once Juzo finished and arrived back.

"Thanks! My quirk isn't the best for this kind of test, but I think I did good. Now I can't wait to see what you have to show!" He said feeling more excited. Kanji was not a bad person, just very awkward, it seemed.

Kanji nodded and stood up, as his group was called. He and five others lined up, others taking a tense or professional stance, while he didn't do any of that. The rest of the group looked at him annoyed. Did he care so little or was he mocking them? However, the starting buzz was heard, and the other student's quirks exploded into action, while Kanji stood there, still.

He saw Present Mic about to call out to him, but then he activated his quirk, and the world grinded to a halt. No sound, no movement. Kanji stood around for a few seconds or a few minutes before he started calmly walking forward to the goal. He felt the familiar pull of the technique, enveloping him in the warm blanket of nothing, but Kanji resisted standing still, having long mastered this aspect of his quirk.

No time was lost, yet an eternity passed him by when he reached the finish line. He imaged getting out of the blanket, the cold air chilling him once again, and the clocks of the referees ticked forward. The man before him did a double take, staring at the teenager, then at his stopper. He quickly got out of his stupor and shouted the result.

"Contester 11, 3 seconds!"

The crowd of the students started whispering among themselves. Present Mic's swallowed his words. _'Not lost at all, huh?' _

Kenji arrived back to Juzo's side, the boy smiling at him.

"Man, Jukutatsu, why didn't you tell me sooner that you're this good? What's your quirk? Teleportation?"

"Maybe one day I tell you." Kanji just offered him a small smile

"Hey, don't pull my leg-where are you going?"

Kanji was smiling, truly amused for once and shook his head. Honenuki-san will just have to wait a bit.

**A/N: Hey everybody reading this! I'm very excited to finally finish chapter 1 of this story. I had this idea in my mind for a while and this is the first one I actually started writing after lurking on the site for years. Obviously, the main character is strong, but I'm kind of aiming for something like a One Punch Man style character, but not building on comedy and him not being that astronomically strong. If you think the pacing is fast or some parts feel awkward to read, let me know! I'm open for any suggestion, as long as they're civil. Leave a review if you liked it and see you in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

The night was darker than usual, the moon illuminating most of Tokyo. Kanji sat on the edge of the apartment's roof and watched as the daytime city went to sleep and a new one woke up.

If he was honest with himself, he could have fallen asleep if he really wanted to, but his concerns lied on the letter in his hands, from U.A. University of course. Was he afraid to open it? No, he felt he did alright with the exam.

However, this meant the start of something new.

Kanji despised everything new.

'New' means responsibilities, the stress of socializing, and in this case, constant evaluation. Whether from teachers, peers or the press, somebody will always judge him. Just the thought of it made him tired.

He didn't have much experience in making friends, and he suspected not many will be sympathetic and understanding towards a complete stranger, classmates or not. So, because of this, he was nervous. Extremely so. He already had a tentative friendship with Honenuki, they talked on their phones for a bit over the course of the passing week after the exam, and he took comfort in that. What if he is not going to be in his class?

He sighed and decided it didn't matter, he will attend the school if he passed whether he checks this letter or not. So, without thinking he ripped the letter open.

And the small disk inside began its freefall to the ground.

He buried his face in his palms. _'Nice going.'_ He collected himself and focused on the opened letter. The air around it became distorted, and the paper started move in his hands. The small disk suddenly appeared soaring back into the letter and sealing itself like it wasn't opened in the first place.

This time he opened it carefully, setting the small device beside himself. The smiling visage of the principal appeared, sitting behind his desk.

"_Good day, Jukutatsu-san, I hope all is well and you didn't worry too much about the results of the exam. Fisrt of all, I would like to congratulate you for passing and welcome you to U.A University!"_

After he said that, however, the smile disappeared from the small animal's face.

"_Your application was nothing short of unusual and unorthodox. We postponed your interview simply because there was a small chance of you passing and it would have been a needless distraction. We understand that somebody in your situation doesn't have much choice in picking a career and we didn't expect you to know your reasons to become a hero, yet. This is a leap of faith from our side, as we don't know what to expect from you. However, we will hold this interview at the end of your first year, and we expect you to pass."_

The smile comes back.

"_But don't be discouraged, the situation is not as dire as it may seem. Enjoy yourself, young Kanji. This is your Hero Academia. Welcome."_

The hologram disappeared and silence took reign once again. Despite passing, Kanji couldn't feel anything but tiredness. Can something be easy for even once? A rhetorical question, as the answer is both obvious and depressing.

He decided that his problem out of the way, it was time to sleep. The first school day is not far off, after all.

* * *

Kanji was staring at the enormous door with the letters 1-A on them. So, this was it. The gateway to fond memories or hellish suffering. But in the end, does it matter? Time will move forward, and with it, him, and everything else is dwarves in comparison. He pushed the door open, only to be greeted with nothing.

He let a small smile slip through. Some time to prepare for the day and think a bit. He walked towards the seats.

"Let's see…" He pulled a small paper from his blazer, he quickly scanned it for his seat. Having found it, he sat down and closed his eyes. He felt strangely at peace, undisturbed in the empty classroom.

"Hi! Who are you?" A cheery voice startled him.

"What?" He looked around only to see floating clothes. The uniform in front of him giggled.

"That's usually the first reaction. I'm Hagakure Tooru! My quirk is Invisibility, as you can see! So, who are you?"

"Jukutatsu Kanji. Call me Kanji or whatever you'd like. I was told the name doesn't really suits me."

"That's alright Kanji-san! But what did you say your quirk was?"

"I didn't."

Tooru was a bit taken aback. She wanted to greet her new classmate, even after he walked past her, chalking that up to her quirk. Everybody did that at first, after all, but this was just plain rude.

She took in his appearance. Kanji looked tired and disheveled, but aside from that, the only thing not average about him was the choker on his neck and his eyes. The way he stared at her made her a bit awkward, and after him shooting her down, she felt that she fulfilled her original plan of a friendly greeting.

"Right. I guess I'll see you around." The girl-Hagakure-left his desk annoyed, even he could tell. He sighed and mustered up courage to speak up.

"Sorry. I'm not great at first impressions."

Tooru paused and turned back to Kanji. The boy looked embarrassed, his ears burning red.

"It's… Speed augmentation." Kanji settled on a lie that was partially true.

Tooru smiled back at the boy in appreciation, not that he could see.

* * *

Slowly the class filled up with the rest of the class, Hagakure greeting everybody enthusiastically, while he closed his eyes and greeted them only barely. He felt exhausted after the situation in the morning. Everybody was conversing with each other, small groups forming of new and old friends, while he felt perfectly content with in his seat. He shared a glance with the raven headed boy-Tokoyami-beside him, nodding slightly to each other, sharing each other's sentiment of being alone.

His eyes scanned the room, taking in his classmates. A tall boy with glasses, the half-half guy and the ponytail girl from the recommended exam, a nervous boy with green hair, a weird with purple balls for hair, a loud one with fair hair who looked ready to explode and Hagakure conversing with a group of girls, but Honenuki-san was nowhere to be found. Suddenly the door opened and a living sleeping bag walked in.

'_What's with today and living clothes?' _He idly mused to himself. If the 'thing' walked in, that means that he's a student or a teacher. The way it rolled to the podium, he guessed the latter. If that's the case, he's lucky to be seated. The rest of the class caught on, and everybody sat down. The zipper of the yellow bag started to move, and their homeroom teacher made his appearance. Kanji quirked an eyebrow, somehow the man reminded him of himself, mostly because of the disheveled appearance.

"It took you 5 seconds to quiet down. Not bad, but not that great either. I'm Aizawa Shota, your homeroom teacher."

He then reached inside his sleeping bag and pulled out a gym uniform.

"Put these on and meet me outside at the training yard. Be quick."

With that, he and rest of the class followed the instructions. When he arrived at the boy's locker room he started to undress. For a moment he took in his body. He couldn't help but feel insecure when he saw some of the muscular guys, like Bakugou and Kirishima, if he picked up their names from conversations correctly. He quickly put on the gym uniform and all but fled from room. Outside he stood around, not knowing what to do, as he was the first. Aizawa nodded to him, glad to see a student act logical.

Not much time passed, and all the class was standing in front of Aizawa-sensei.

"Good, you're all here. We will hold a quirk apprehension test, to know where you stand. In middle school, you couldn't use your quirks for the standard fitness test, which is illogical. That won't be the case here."

"There will be no entrance ceremony?" A girl with brown hair and round face asked.

"In U.A we value freedom, but that also extends to the teachers. Now, Bakugou. You got the highest score in the entrance exam. Step inside the circle and throw the ball, with the use of your quirk."

He tossed the ball to the explosive boy, who then the stepped into the circle. A wide grin spread across his face and flung the ball with all his might.

"DIE" Kanji quirked an eyebrow at his choice of words. Still, the result spoke for itself, when Aizawa-sensei held up a device.

"810 metres."

The class started muttering to themselves.

"This is fun!" A girl with pink skin cheered.

"Fun? Then how about we raise the stakes? The lowest ranked student will be expelled from program." Their teacher said.

Outrage dominated the emotion displayed by the students. Aizawa-sensei, however smiled behind his scarf.

"You're not children, let's see how you deal with this."

First came the 50-meter dash event. Kanji felt relieved that he told Hagakure that his quirk is simply speed. This means that he won't be able to stop time for the test, but it was no big deal. After all, he could augment his speed by speeding time up around his body. He decided that 4x times the normal speed would be enough for this event. Students were paired up, he was with the tall boy, Iida Tenya, who introduced himself to Kanji when they took their place at the starting line.

Kanji activated his quirk and at the same time felt as everything but himself were moving in slow motion. His quirk ached to let loose and give him an even more boost, but he held it back. The starting sound was heard, and he exploded into pure speed. He was surprised however, when he saw Iida not far behind.

A small, but loud part of competitiveness lit up inside him and could help but increase his speed and pull ahead of the engine calved boy.

"2.3 seconds!"

"3.04 seconds!

Kanji deactivated his quirk and took a few deep breaths to deal with going back to the normal speed of time. He was Iida approach him.

"Jukutatsu-san! I am impressed by your speed!"

"Thanks. You were pretty good too. And call me Kanji, please."

After that the rest of the students went, most getting a respectable score, but Bakugou came close Iida's score. One of the other recommended students, Yaoyorozu actually shot herself from a cannon she created on the spot.

After that came the grip strength test. Kanji scoring an average score, not using his quirk for this one. The most notable was a guy with multiple arms scoring 540 kg.

The standing long jump required a bit of thinking. His way of speeding up didn't carry momentum, so he had to have a plan. When he was next, he got ready for the jump, and just before his foot left the jumping rectangle, he stopped time. He backed away a good distance, then sped his body up.

Speeding up while stopping time was taxing, but for a short burst like this one, it could be done. He reached the same position he stopped time and jumped, while cancelling the time-stop. When he was in the air, he suddenly deactivated the speed-up too, and the result was him flying to clear the sandbox entirely. This was because that suddenly stopping, not gradually releasing the speed-up caused him to maintain the increased speed and its momentum.

This meant, however, that he lost control of his body, so he skidded on the ground before stopping entirely. He stood up a bit bruised, but not all too hurt, silently promising himself to not do that again.

He felt he did alright on the repeated side-steps and the endurance test, his speed helping him greatly. His powers helped a bit with the seated toe-touch and the sit ups, but it ultimately came down to his fitness.

He broke the promise he made himself at the ball throw, using the same trick to increase the ball's velocity, but in the end it was worth it.

When all the tests were completed, he come to the conclusion that he judged Midoriya incorrectly. The guy was simply insane. Nobody should be that proud and smiling after breaking a finger, no matter how powerful the previous blast was. But Kanji admitted that the display was motivating, if only a little bit.

With all of the tests finished, his attention was drawn to the display board.

He came in 3rd, only behind the two other recommended students. Yaoyorozu and Todoroki. Bakugou looked furious, his classmates in the last 5 were crestfallen at their performance. He noticed Hagakure's name in 18th place, just barely making it. In last place was Minoru Mineta, who was most likely the purple haired midget by the sounds and expression he was making.

Aizawa-sensei stood in front of the students.

"Minoru Mineta. Thank you for choosing the U.A. Hero course, but you're not suited for it. Pack your things and go to classroom 1-C. You will be transferred to the General course."

Most of the class was shocked, some happy that they didn't get last place, some angry at the casual dismiss of a student. Finally, Yaoyorozu spoke up.

"But Sensei, wasn't the threat just a ruse to give our best?"

"Of course not. Anybody without the potential to succeed will just get hurt here. It's the best for everybody if he changes courses."

The class muttered between each other, voices of agreement and disagreement were both present. Kanji himself couldn't really care even if he wanted to, as he didn't know Minoru-san. He decided to trust Aizawa-sensei's judgement.

And with that, the quirk apprehension test came to an end.

**A/N: Hello, thank you for reading another chapter of Clockwork! I hope you liked it, even if things are just starting to pick up and not much happened. I'd like to take the first few chapters to show the few main characters and flesh out Kanji a bit. You may notice that Tooru made multiple appearances. That is because I find her as a character interesting and I think the show doesn't do her justice. With a quirk like that, many problems, insecurities and fears could be present, and I think it would fit into this story. And I threw Mineta out because I don't like him.**

**Let me know if you liked it, if there was something I could improve or edit to make it better. See you in the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

Kanji was standing around the school's gate, waiting for Honenuki. Truth be told, he didn't know if he was even in there, so he decided to text him.

His reply came after a minute or two, letting him know that he already went home, but promised to wait for him tomorrow. His mood a little dampened, Kanji started walking home alone. He was consumed by his thoughts, so he almost missed the commotion happening in one of the alleyways. He peeked from behind the wall and noticed three thugs standing around, one of them leaning on the wall, towering over a familiar set of floating clothes.

He knew that now he wouldn't be able to walk away, now that the victim is his classmate. He took off his school bag and blazer, leaving them behind the corner.

The thugs noticed his footsteps. He stopped, still a good distance between them.

"What's with U.A and playing hero, huh? Are you picking a fight too?"

Kanji quirked an eyebrow. So, Hagakure was here for the same reason he was, only the roles changed, and she became the victim.

"Let her go and we're out of here"

The thugs laughed obnoxiously.

"You have some nerve, you punk! This bitch let our entertainment go, so she must stay and play with us a bit! Nothings wrong with that, now is there? Or are you picking a fight?" The leader tried to smile charmingly and brandished his long, sharp nails.

Kanji unbuttoned his shirt's cuffs and rolled up his sleeves.

"I hate doing this…what a bother." He complained to himself.

Kanji focused and activated his quirk, speeding up his body to 6x times the normal. Everything slowed down to his eyes. He quickly reached the first thug, delivering an uppercut to his chin, the force knocking him out cold. Without stopping, he used the unconscious body as a springboard, launching himself to the others. Kanji was upon them instantly, performing a brutal roundhouse kick to the leader's face, the man falling down same as the previous one.

The last man standing turned to run away, but before he could, a kick connected to his stomach. Throwing up, he fell down too.

Kanji sighed and deactivated his quirk. He sighed. _'I'm too tired for this…' _He looked down to his knuckles, a little bit of spit and bruises covering it. He wiped his hands and turned away from the scene.

Tooru was staring with wide eyes. She was wracking her brain to figure out what to do, then Kanji arrived and it's over, dispatching the thugs like children. She felt compelled to at least thank him.

"Th-Thank you." She muttered. To be honest she felt kind of pathetic. She couldn't do a single thing, except hope for help. They stood around for a bit.

"Uh…L-let me walk you home." His face reddened.

"Thank you! But it's alright, it should be safe now." Kanji was beyond embarrassed now. _'Stupid!'_

"Alright."

An awkward silence settled between the two of them. Hagakure was the first to break the ice.

"Well, I think I'll get going. Thanks for the help, Kanji!" Tooru couldn't help but feel disheartened, if not for her classmate's intervention, the situation wouldn't have resolved so quickly. She turned to leave.

Kanji turned around, looking at the invisible girl. He couldn't see her face, obviously, but her body language told him enough of her emotions. He sighed yet again, picked up his bag and blazer.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. Your quirk isn't suited for this kind of confrontation. I-I think you were pretty cool, trying to save someone else." _'I know I wouldn't have if it weren't you.'_

Tooru blushed a bit, muttering thanks and quickly turning away and began walking home in higher spirits. When she was out of sight, Kanji sighed to himself and left the alleyway. Pulling out his phone, scanned for Honenuki's number and texted him, telling him what happened.

* * *

Kanji was again the first at the classroom. He enjoyed the kind of peace and quiet that his apartment lacked. He closed his eyes and basked in the atmosphere, until he heard steps coming closer and stopping in front of his desk. Opening his eyes, he was greeted with the invisible form of Hagakure. _'I missed her again?'_

"Here, Kanji, this is for you!" Kanji was presented with a small bag. Opening it, he saw it was full of chocolates.

"My mom insisted we give you something after your help yesterday." Tooru couldn't help but feel bashful, cursing his mother for having her do this. Kanji's stare didn't help, not one bit.

Kanji didn't know what to do. He really didn't want to take it, as he knew the reason he helped. Not out of the kindness of his heart-as a hero would have done- but because she was in his class, and she was also the first to greet him in a friendly way.

"I-I can't take this." He said, his eyes downcast. He would feel like a hypocrite if he did, so he held the bag out for Hagakure to take it.

"Really, it's fine! I won't take no for an answer!" With that, she turned her back to him and walked back to greet the just arriving classmates.

Kanji looked at the bag in his hands and could hold back the soft smile that wormed its way onto his way. _'Stubborn girl…'_

"**I AM!" **A boisterous voice broke through the chatter of the classroom.

"**COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"**

The massive form of All Might appeared in his iconic costume.

"It's really All Might!"

"It's his silver age costume, so retro!"

Kanji opened his eyes, awakened from his nap. In time for All Might explaining what the Basic Hero Training course will be about. He was tired honestly, so he hoped it wouldn't be anything requiring moving from his comfortable spot.

"**The best training is practical! So, you will be doing a Battle Trial!"**

At this everybody perked up, some shouting their approval. Kanji let out a miserable sound, to his neighbor's, Tokoyami's amusement.

"**But heroes have to look the part, so we prepared your costumes that you handed in for this event!"**

Numbered suitcases came out from the wall, Kanji's classmates getting even more excited, running up to their respective numbers and running off to change. All the while Kanji was walking towards the boy's locker in a daze. _'Costumes? Handed in…?'_

* * *

Everybody was standing in front of All Might, some costumes looked practical, some looked flashy, and there was Kanji…

Standing in his gym uniform.

"Dude, where's your costume? Are they still making it?" Kirishima asked him, the innocent question directing every eye to the unfortunate boy.

Kanji's face was burning. He let out a groan inside. _'I want to die…'_

"I- uh… I didn't know you need to hand in a costume design…"

Everybody was surprised at that, the muttering steadily increasing, and he even heard some snickering. He balled up his fists. _'So what if I don't have one?! Do you think you're better than me?! _He glared at them, memories of the past appearing and feeling his quirk aching to be released…

"**Don't worry young man, we will apply to the Support course and have them make a costume for you after class! And the rest of you, I expect behavior befitting a hero!" **

The class looked a bit ashamed, aside from Bakugou and Tokoyami. All the while, Tooru was watching the whole scene with concerned eyes, not liking the expression the normally tired teenager was making.

Kanji took a few calming breaths. _'They probably were just having a laugh…'_ Despite that, he felt bitterness in his chest.

He shook his head and to distract himself, he focused on everybody else's costumes. He approved most of them, however, when he saw Hagakure standing in nothing but boots and gloves, he couldn't help the blush that crept up on his face. He quickly turned away.

While nobody was looking, All Might's eyes quickly scanned little cards.

"**Now, everybody will receive a letter from A to J, the person who has the same letter is your partner! Then the teams will be divided into Villain and Hero teams! The Villain team will protect the building and a "bomb" form the Heroes! Naturally, the Hero team's objective is to secure the bomb, or incapacitate both Villains through either battle or with this capture tape! The teams will receive five minutes before each match to form a plan! Good luck!"**

With that, everybody took to finding their partners. Kanji looked at his. _'C…'_ He looked around and saw Yaoyorozu approaching him.

"You have C also, Jukutatsu-san?" The tall girl asked.

"Yes. Also, call me Kanji."

"**Now that everybody has found their partners, it's time for the first match! Team A as Heroes and Team D as Villains!"**

From Midoriya's scared and Bakugou's eager expression, he could tell this won't be a smooth match.

And it wasn't, Midoriya displaying incredible amounts of insanity again. However, Kanji felt something stirring inside him, after seeing Midoriya let out his frustration, pent up anger and insecurities, he felt a connection to the timid boy. He turned on his heels, going to the infirmary, where he will most likely find him. All Might looked after the retreating form of Kanji, his smile stretching just a little bit.

Kanji reached the white door and rapped his knuckles against it. The grumpy face of Recovery Girl stared at him.

"What are you here for, youngster? I was just about to treat Midoriya-san!"

"I'm here to offer my services to heal him."

Recovery Girl took a long look at him, as if seizing him up.

"Step inside."

He entered the infirmary, immediately noticing the battered form of the green haired classmate. He walked up to his bed and took in his injuries. _'His arm, his body broken and burnt…Mostly self-inflicted injuries…I admire your resolve, Midoriya.'_

He pressed two fingers to the forehead of the boy, focusing and activating his quirk. The air became distorted around them and Midoriya's body began to perform awkward, jerky motions, as if going through the previous movement's backwards. His injuries began to disappear and after a short while he was completely back the way he was before the battle.

Recovery Girl looked on in silence, looking at Kanji with eyes missing her usual sternness. Midoriya opened two bleary eyes.

"What?... Where am I?" Recovery Girl was immediately at his side checking for any injuries.

"What do you think you're doing?! Didn't I tell you to not break your arms like that?!"

Midoriya sheepishly laughed, looking a little bit guilty.

"I'm sorry, but I just couldn't hold back…"

"You're just as bad as your mentor!" The heroine sighed and went back to her desk.

"Thank you for healing me." The green haired boy said in a small voice. She looked over at him and nodded.

Midoriya looked around the infirmary and noticed his classmate sitting in one of the chairs.

"Jukutatsu-san? Why are you here?"

"After your battle I wanted to make sure you were alright. And call me Kanji please."

Midoriya was pleasantly surprised, he didn't think Kanji would be the first to visit him. Their conversation started flowing surprisingly easy, discussing his battle with Bakugou, commenting on and speculating about the rest of his classmate's match as they watched them on the TV in the infirmary. Midoriya felt a surprising kinship with Kanji, most likely because both were awkward socially.

"**Team C as Villains, Team G as Heroes, everybody take your positions!" **They heard the boisterous voice of All Might.

"Well, got to go…what a bother…"

Midoriya let out an amused chuckle before catching himself and becoming beet red. Kanji looked at the green haired boy and let out a small smile himself.

"Good luck." He nodded at Midoriya's encouragement and left the room.

A few minute later he was standing beside his teammate in the building in front if the faux-bomb.

"Do you have a plan, Yaoyorozu?" He asked the girl, who looked to be deep in thought.

"Both Kaminari-san and Jirou-san have formidable quirks. With electricity, they can quickly take both of us out, and the sound blast and enhanced hearing is troublesome…"

Kanji let the girl think, resisting an internal groan.

"I think a simple plan will be the best. Let's barricade the door and place traps in front of it. I'll make them with my quirk. If all things go south, you can still get the upper hand with your speed, right?"

He nodded at that, Yaoyorozu creating steel bars to reinforce the door. He sat down and closed his eyes, attempting to relax a bit.

"_**Attention Heroes, Villains! The 5-minute preparation is up!"**_ Came their teacher's voice through the loudspeaker.

They nodded at each other. This means the Heroes are on the loose.

For a while nothing happened. Then suddenly, the wall beside the door was damaged, a powerful soundwave from Jirou outing a hole in it. Immediately after Kaminari jumped through it and let loose a powerful electric attack.

Kanji activated his quirk, speeding himself up and pulling Yaoyorozu and himself to safety.

"Told'ya it wouldn't be easy." Kaminari said to the now appearing sound user.

Kanji took in the situation. Because of that attack, they had to actually get behind the bomb, giving the Heroes a clear path.

"Yaoyorozu, you did good with the barricade and the traps. Let me handle it."

He calmly started walking forward. _'We're Villains, right? I should get in character…although not like Iida.' _

"A good entrance, Heroes. But I can't help but wonder…"

He increased his speed, the air already distorted around him started moving erratically and violently. He stared directly at his classmates in front of him.

"**Will you be able to keep up?"** He asked in a low voice and sprung into action.

Kaminari tried to activate his quirk, but before he could have, Kanji's fist already slammed into his stomach. Spitting up saliva, the boy collapsed into a heap on the floor. Jirou wanted to put some distance between them, however, Kanji was already on her. Quickly circling her he grabbed both of her hands and forced them together. He kicked into the back of her knees, making her collapse, while tying the capture tape on her wrists.

"_**The Heroes are incapacitated! The Villain team won!"**_

* * *

Kanji was again standing outside the school gates waiting for Honenuki, his foot idly kicking rocks on the sidewalk. He planned to go to the Support Course, but All Might excused himself after class, promising him to deal with his costume next time. He texted Honenuki that he's waiting for him at the school gates. He closed his eyes, but soon a voice he knew broke the silence.

"Are you waiting for somebody, Kanji?" Hagakure was standing in front of him.

"Ah, Hagakure…Yeah, a friend from 1-B…" He answered, his mind briefly flashing back to her costume, pink dusting his cheeks.

"I didn't know you had friends!" Kanji stared at her deadpan. She quickly realized what she said.

"Wait, no, I didn't mean to say it like that! It's just that you're always alone in class…"

"Thanks for the concern." Kanji smiled at her slightly. She smiled back, not that he could see…

"Also, you were really cool during the Battle Training…" _'Not like me…again.'_

"And a bad matchup for you. Tokoyami is a recommended student. Though, if you could have jumped over his first wave of ice, and then silently crept up to him…I think he would have been in some trouble."

Kanji didn't know what Hagakure's face looked right know, but he hoped his words cheered her up a bit.

Tooru was just about to say something when a new voice joined the conversation.

"Hey Kanji! Sorry for the wait! Who're you talking to, a classmate?" Honenuki rounded the corner. Kanji waved at him.

"This is the guy from 1-B I told you about." Kanji said to Hagakure.

"Honenuki Juzo." Honenuki grinned.

"Hagakure Tooru." She introduced herself.

"Are you ready to go, Kanji?" Honenuki asked him.

"Yeah."

"Do you want to come with us?" He turned to the invisible girl.

"Sure, why not!" She said enthusiastically.

They began their way back, the other two chatting, while Kanji offered comments from time to time. He didn't even feel the small smile on his face the whole way back.

**A/N: Hello and sorry for taking so long with this chapter. Exams caught up to me so I was busy, but now I'm finally done, and I can focus on the story once more! I wanted to write a longer chapter as compensation, but I don't want to drag it out any longer. As always let me know if you liked it and if there's some errors in the chapter. See you next time!**

**Edited, because I realized I didn't put in the line breaks like a goddamn idiot **


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